Exploring young people with eating difficulties and their caregivers' experiences of person-centred counselling

Background

There has been a significant increase in the number of young people with eating difficulties (EDs), and current waiting times are not meeting the standard recommended by the National Health Service. Therefore, TIC+, a mental health charity in Gloucestershire, launched an ED counselling service, TEDS. The service aimed to promptly provide young people with person-centred counselling as an alternative option for support.

Aims

Very few studies have investigated the experience of individuals with EDs who are engaging with person-centred counselling, and exploration of this can help us to ascertain whether the approach should be more widely deployed while also informing service development for TEDS.

Materials and Methods

This study qualitatively explored young people and their caregivers' experiences of the service using semi-structured interviews; four young people and four caregivers took part. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

The findings revealed that the person-centred counselling provided was valuable for young people, with improvements to their EDs evident.

Discussion

However, there were several barriers to counselling that must be addressed. Furthermore, caregivers experienced a sense of loss of control and helplessness, which may have ramifications for young people too, demonstrating a need to consider how best to support caregivers.

Conclusion

There is preliminary support for the use of person-centred counselling for young people with eating difficulites.